JOB: Head of School – Literature, Language and Media, University of the Witwatersrand

The Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand invites applications for the Headship of the School of Literature, Language and Media. The appointment is for a fixed period of five years, though this period may be shortened by mutual agreement to no less than three years. The Head should be available to take up the position as soon as possible, preferably by 01 January 2018.

The Head will lead the School in establishing and maintaining a position of excellence. He/She will need vision, strong managerial skills and senior experience within a university. In order to command the respect and confidence of the School, the Head should also have standing as a researcher and an academic or professional. He or she would also be expected to continue to grow the School’s public events profile and support courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level. In addition to steering the transformation of the curriculum and staff, it is expected that the incumbent will pay attention to potential areas of growth in the school, promote multilingualism, improve research productivity, and craft strategies for growth in postgraduate student numbers.

The School of Literature, Language and Media comprises the disciplines of African Languages, African Literature, Creative Writing, English, French, German, Interdisciplinary Digital Communication Studies, Italian, Journalism & Media Studies, Linguistics, Media Studies, Portuguese, Publishing Studies, Spanish, South African Sign Language, and Translation & Interpreting. The School has a substantial undergraduate enrolment and provides supervision for an increasing number of postgraduates in a variety of fields. In a context of the growth in South Africa’s links with the rest of the globe, the school is keen to research 21st century perspectives on a transforming world, both African and global.
The remuneration will be appropriate to the seniority of the post and will be negotiated on an individual basis.

For further information regarding the School, the post and selection procedures, contact Professor Ruksana Osman, Dean, at Tel +27 11 717 4011 or Ruksana.Osman@wits.ac.za

To apply, submit a letter of motivation, detailed CV and the names and contact details of three referees (incl. e-mail addresses).

Internal employees are invited to apply directly on Oracle by following the path: iWits /Self Service application/”Apply for a job”

External applicants are invited to apply, by registering profile on the Wits i-recruitment platform located at https://irec.wits.ac.za

Closing date: 15 May 2017

The University reserves the right to verify qualifications and credit standing